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A. Oxenswärdh
Collaborative economy denotes “the use of internet technologies to connect distributed groups of people to make better use of skills, goods and other useful things”
(in Dredge and Gyimothy 2015: 293). Within collaborative economy, shared economy can specifically be defined as “citizens freely sharing skills and knowledge in
collaborative online endeavours, such as Wikipedia and open source software development” (Martin 2016: 151). Botsman and Rogers (2010) as well as Heinrichs (2013:
3) believe that collaborative consumption in the sharing economy has the potential
to create “new pathways of sustainability”, by promoting sustainable consumption
practices, and by connecting consumers and enabling “them to make more efficient
use of underutilized assets” (Martin 2016:149).
Within postmodern social theory, postmodern society is increasingly being defined
by collaborative consumption and sharing economy, as part of a moral economy
(see Germann Molz 2013). In tourism and hospitality studies in particular, novel
frameworks are being developed in which collaborative consumption and production typologies (Munoz and Cohen 2017), and strategies (e.g. collaboration between
the private and public sphere so that government can integrate new, developing collaborative consumption strategies such as a major room rental company into existing
systems, see Cohen and Kietzmann 2014) can achieve sustainability. At the center
of this theoretical framework lies the idea of human capital. As we know, the sharing economy is based on network effects in which consumers-peers (both hosts and
guests) not only exchange goods and services (a room in a BnB/hotel) but also act
upon each other’s knowledge, experiences, and social and cultural capital to create
a valuable product.
Thus, inspired by the Bordieuan forms of capital (1986), human capital in the
sharing economy encompasses both cultural capital, that is, a person’s cultural assets
(education, personal predispositions etc.) that confers social status and power within
a stratified society and social capital, that is, “the aggregate of the actual or potential
resources which are linked to possession of a durable network” (Bourdieu 1986: 51).
An individual’s network of connections is thus essential part of the societal structure.
Here, human capital creates a social-relational bridge between consumption and
production, making both the guest and the host active makers in creating potentially
more sustainable tourist experiences and strategies.
All this, described above, has challenged hotel business under the late decades.
Human capital is also important for the hotel management. A committed leader can
conduct sustainability work that is powerful and well thought out. Business enterprises have discovered that competitive advantages may be captured by measuring
success in term of triple bottom line (TBL): social equity, ecological integrity, and
financial profitability (Adriate and Fink 2008).
A. Oxenswärdh
Collaborative economy denotes “the use of internet technologies to connect distributed groups of people to make better use of skills, goods and other useful things”
(in Dredge and Gyimothy 2015: 293). Within collaborative economy, shared economy can specifically be defined as “citizens freely sharing skills and knowledge in
collaborative online endeavours, such as Wikipedia and open source software development” (Martin 2016: 151). Botsman and Rogers (2010) as well as Heinrichs (2013:
3) believe that collaborative consumption in the sharing economy has the potential
to create “new pathways of sustainability”, by promoting sustainable consumption
practices, and by connecting consumers and enabling “them to make more efficient
use of underutilized assets” (Martin 2016:149).
Within postmodern social theory, postmodern society is increasingly being defined
by collaborative consumption and sharing economy, as part of a moral economy
(see Germann Molz 2013). In tourism and hospitality studies in particular, novel
frameworks are being developed in which collaborative consumption and production typologies (Munoz and Cohen 2017), and strategies (e.g. collaboration between
the private and public sphere so that government can integrate new, developing collaborative consumption strategies such as a major room rental company into existing
systems, see Cohen and Kietzmann 2014) can achieve sustainability. At the center
of this theoretical framework lies the idea of human capital. As we know, the sharing economy is based on network effects in which consumers-peers (both hosts and
guests) not only exchange goods and services (a room in a BnB/hotel) but also act
upon each other’s knowledge, experiences, and social and cultural capital to create
a valuable product.
Thus, inspired by the Bordieuan forms of capital (1986), human capital in the
sharing economy encompasses both cultural capital, that is, a person’s cultural assets
(education, personal predispositions etc.) that confers social status and power within
a stratified society and social capital, that is, “the aggregate of the actual or potential
resources which are linked to possession of a durable network” (Bourdieu 1986: 51).
An individual’s network of connections is thus essential part of the societal structure.
Here, human capital creates a social-relational bridge between consumption and
production, making both the guest and the host active makers in creating potentially
more sustainable tourist experiences and strategies.
All this, described above, has challenged hotel business under the late decades.
Human capital is also important for the hotel management. A committed leader can
conduct sustainability work that is powerful and well thought out. Business enterprises have discovered that competitive advantages may be captured by measuring
success in term of triple bottom line (TBL): social equity, ecological integrity, and
financial profitability (Adriate and Fink 2008).